Whistling In A Storm
by Under A Cloud
Summary: Twice they met before they became classmates, but Akashi never registered her face in his mind. This is a story with a dramatic start, painful journey and perhaps not so blissful but happy ending. (AkashixOC)(C3 is a birthday special for Akashi's birthday)
1. Young Emperor

Akashi Seijuurou is a very intriguing character, so I decided to have a take at writing about him. Although this is a product of my own fantasy, I hope you'll enjoy it nonetheless.

Summary: Twice they met before they became classmates, but Akashi never registered her face in his mind. This is a story with a dramatic start, painful journey and perhaps not so blissful but happy ending. (AkashixOC)

Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke.

**Whistling In A Storm**

**Young Emperor**

At eight year old, Shirayuki Minki met a boy who later on changed her life.

It began with a knock on her door, an innocent request to borrow a basketball from a boy she didn't know lived in her neighbourhood, and she found herself in the local street basketball court, witnessing for herself the colour scarlet on a person for the first time in her life.

Scarlet, like the madly blooming primroses in her father's garden of exotic flowers.

"Damn! Akashi already knocked the ball down from the hoop? Well, it's Akashi after all…" the boy who stood next to her muttered to himself, tone a little indignant. He had wanted to tap on this opportunity to bring down Akashi's pride by beating the latter to resolving the problem of the ball-stuck-in-the-hoop_ for once_, but he had failed again, _again like all his other attempts to thwart Akashi's reign_.

Minki paid no mind to him. She was staring straight at the scarlet-haired boy standing on the three point circle, mesmerized by the colour of his hair and the fluidity of his motion.

He was holding a basketball, body already arched in shooting position. He then leapt effortlessly, and threw the ball forward with a seemingly careless push.

_Whoosh._

Score. The ball fell right through the hoop without making contact with the ring; it was an air shot.

As the ball dived through the hoop, he angled his head and turned to look at Minki or rather, at the boy who came knocking on her door. Minki's heart stopped beating for a second when his eyes brushed by her.

Mismatched eyes half-closed, Minki was as much fascinated by his eyes as she was by his hair colour. His right eye was red like the flame which was his hair and the left was a rich orange like the skin of sweet tangerines which Minki loved to eat. His shoulders were slouched in a nonchalant manner, and though they weren't broad yet, Minki felt that he was already powerful enough to take mountain and sea upon them. His lips were curved downwards in a small scowl, an indication of boredom she supposed. He was on a whole different level from those he played with after all.

The thrilling sensation didn't last for long, for Akashi turned to the boy beside her, pale pink lips slowly curling into a smirk uncharacteristic of a child of his age.

"Ah… Akutsu, I see you're back."

His voice was that of a kid, but the prowess hidden within was that of a fully-grown man – _or perhaps even more_.

"Yeah yeah," the boy gave a disgruntled scowl, and the next thing emitted from his throat was a painful howl as a basketball had smashed right into his face.

_Squelch. _Minki froze upon hearing the disgustingly painful sound. Just how much force was applied into that shot? She looked at Akashi who hadn't shifted from his active stance, and an involuntary shiver ran down her spine.

Was that pass even human – no, meant to be made by a boy seemingly about her age?

Of her five senses, all Minki felt was the wind lifting a few strands of her long blonde hair. She didn't even see the ball making its way towards Akutsu who was right next to her.

"Know your place, Akutsu. I've told you before, haven't I? If you misbehave in my presence, I'll kill you," Akashi spoke slowly in a purposeful manner, and Minki had a feeling that he wasn't joking at all.

He was serious. Serious about committing murder should Akutsu disobeyed him. Akutsu looked like he wanted to retort Akashi but he squirmed under Akashi's piercing gaze and slowly, _perhaps subconsciously_, Minki thought when she saw the glazed look in Akutsu's eyes, he fell to his knees.

Akutsu didn't even flinch when the rough flooring grazed his kneecaps.

"I'm sorry, Akashi-kun."

Ridiculous as the sight was, however the craziness of this resemblance to a scene out of a medieval movie she had once watched where a guilty knight bowed before his king… Minki felt that that this was the way it should be with this boy called Akashi.

… Oh good lord, this isn't making sense _at all_, Minki thought, mortified, but at a later stage in life, she learned that this couldn't be more normal when one was in the presence of Akashi, normal when they have encountered the Emperor.

For Minki, this was her first meeting with Akashi Seijuurou, but for Akashi, their first meeting came at a much later point in life.

**~x~**

Their second meeting was quick, short and brief. If Minki was asked to describe this meeting, she'd had probably said that it was just… embarrassing. She was fifteen then, and her family had just moved into a new apartment complex in preparation of her enrolment at Rakuzan High. Her memory of Akashi was faint by then, but she never forgot about him. How could she when he was all her friends talked about, the captain of the Generation of Miracles? Not to mention that whenever she was about to flush her memories of him down the toilet bowl, by some magical conjuring… those heterochromatic eyes would appear in her dreams.

She couldn't understand the rationality behind her recurring dreams, but it'd seem that Akashi Seijuurou was etched in her mind even though she didn't know him personally. She found it rather disturbing now, actually.

So her second meeting with Akashi wasn't a pleasant one either.

She was running an errand for her mother and singing aloud to herself in the lift, it wasn't loud, but not what people would consider soft either. Minki had her back to the door of the lift and earphones on her ears so she didn't see or hear him entering, and by the time they reached ground floor, it was too late to redeem herself.

Like her first encounter with him, she froze when she saw his back view. Photos of Akashi Seijuurou had been published times and again in the magazines already, so she easily identified him by his unique hair colour.

Was he in the lift with her all the while?

He strode away as she mechanically walked out of the lift, face screwed up upon the realization that he had heard everything. It surprised her that he didn't smack her across the face for disrupting his peace, truly, Akashi wasn't someone you'd think refrains from violence.

Would it be too late to dig a hole and hide her face in it? Minki buried her face in her palms as she stared at Akashi's retreating figure, baby blue eyes peeking out from between her fingers. Hmm… wasn't she missing something here? Minki scratched her head, a_h well _screw it, the matter with Akashi Seijuurou can wait. She should hurry up and get the soya sauce before mom blows the top. Minki shook the thought off and hurriedly made her way to the supermarket, but hey… she was _really _missing an important detail.

Hadn't she considered the reason _why _was Akashi Seijuurou in the same lift as her in the first place? As the price to pay for her ignorance, Minki was going to have hell of a high school life.

... And that was Minki's second meeting with Akashi, but it wasn't even the latter's first.

* * *

Mmhmm… plot is still in process of being developed. I appreciate any form of support, follow, favourite and of course review. :) I really need encouragement to keep myself going so yeahs… I hope you'll leave your footprint behind :)


	2. Rakuzan High

Thanks to everyone who followed, favourite'd and reviewed :) Usually my stories are more OC-centric, but this time round… I'm going to anchor the story about Akashi instead. It's a new challenge for me, but I hope it will work out in my favour.

To anon chan: glad to know that :) Minki's character will be developed in depth in subsequent chapters.

**This is sorta' a spoiler for those who hadn't read the Teiko arc**… Or more specifically, 221Q. It's my headcanon but I don't think that the Emperor persona was created out of the blue, he must have been within Akashi even before Murasakibara challenged him. So in my own fantasy... the match might not have been the Emperor's debut, he could have appeared once in a while when Akashi was a child as well. Therefore Minki only ever saw the Emperor, and never the 'real' Akashi. (This was a reply to VeraVera's kind reminder :) )

P.S.: As of now my focus is on completing my PoT story HTTW, so the chapters for WIAS will be rather short. Once I complete HTTW, I promise that the chapters for WIAS will start becoming longer :) but that might take a while since HTTW just passed the midway line… hurhur.

**Whistling In A Storm**

**Rakuzan High**

Rakuzan High was a prestigious private school built by the rich, meant for the rich. Both the stereotypical rich snobbish kids who lived off their parents' wealth and aspiring young ladies and gentlemen groomed from young to take on the family business were gathered at the same place, so Rakuzan High was a fairly fun place to be at if one was interested in witnessing endless social drama in his or her everyday life.

Besides its student population from all walks of _lavish_ life, Rakuzan High boasted of state-of-the-art facilities and a teaching staff crew of twenty-one well-organized departments consisting of over one hundred employees in total, all of which are alumni of a university not less eminent than Cambridge and Oxford.

Amongst the upper society, there was an old joke going on that in order to be a cleaning staff at Rakuzan High, one has to at least hold a university degree because you wouldn't be able to handle the cleaning supplies otherwise. Notably, this theory has yet to be proven wrong. But that was probably because the salary of a cleaning staff at Rakuzan High was triple of that of a common office worker, so university graduates who were pressed to make ends meet were willing to cast their pride aside and take up a mop at Rakuzan High instead of tolling away in a small office cubicle and earning meager pay. In reality, money doesn't necessarily make the world go round but it _is_ regrettably fundamental for survival.

For Akashi, the prominence and prestige of the school didn't matter to him, his enrolment at Rakuzan High was decided by his father who sieved through all the invitations sent to him and decided that Rakuzan High was the most suitable place for the heir of the Akashi family to be raised. He didn't have a choice in the matter, but he didn't grumble about it because he agreed with his father that amongst all the schools trying to recruit him, Rakuzan High was certainly a notch above the rest. It wasn't just academic excellence, Rakuzan High was also unparalleled in terms of sports and performing arts. _Especially its basketball team which is reputed as the Emperor in the high school circuit._

Still, it didn't change the fact that Akashi abhorred the rein which his father held on him. Sovereignty ran in the Akashi bloodline, so every single male member of the Akashi household suffered from a certain degree of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Akashi's father was the embodiment of the Akashi family's hereditary disease, and Akashi was the epitome of it.

Well it was too early to talk about taking flight at the moment, when his feathers had yet to fully grow. But someday, _someday _he will without a doubt break free of his father's control as soon as the time was ripe.

Before the day arrives, he'd have to make do with what he has.

Rakuzan High was his new conquest, Akashi touched the letter of acceptance lightly, and he hoped that it'd at least keep him entertained for long enough.

... Something stirred within him when he labelled Rakuzan High as his new playground.

Lips twisted in a wry smile marring his handsome face, Akashi silenced his other persona by tracing his forefinger and middle finger down from the middle of his forehead, past his right eye and the outline of his nose right down to his lips.

_Weakling,_ the Emperor whispered to the other boy who resided within him, no wonder he almost lost against Murasakibara and had to call upon him who was slumbering away.

It was unfortunate that two personas had to be born in one body, but the Emperor does not harbour pity. It was one's own fault for being weak after all, losing is a sign of incompetence. That was the way Akashi's were raised.

Winners are honoured and losers are erased, no other doctrine was as vivid as this in the Akashi preaching. He had absorbed the essence of this simple sentence, so he never lost, and never will.

And indubitably…that's the way it'd be at Rakuzan High too.

**~x~**

Class 1A of Rakuzan High was in an eerie silence even though it was only the first day of school.

Nobody was speaking, or daring to as much as take a heavy breath in fear of disturbing the scarlet-haired boy who sat at the window seat of the second row from the back, eyes closed as though he was in a nap.

Akashi liked it that way, he didn't particularly detest noise but it wasn't something he appreciated when it was in excess either, so he allowed the silence to linger in the air.

Hence it was safe to say that Akashi wasn't very happy when his peaceful quietness was dissolved by the loud entrance of a certain blonde and her friend just a minute before class was about to begin.

"It's all your fault, Bakatsuya! If you could wake up just five minutes earlier we wouldn't have to flag down a cab and get caught up in the traffic jam!" A female voice complained angrily as stomping noises neared the classroom.

"_My _fault? Why is the blame solely on me when I told you to wake me up and even gave you the keys to my apartment already just in case I didn't? This is as much your fault as it is mine, Minki!" A male voice argued back.

"It's _your_ responsibility to wake up in time for school! I don't see how you find the cheeks to make me share the blame," Minki huffed as she pushed the door open, oblivious to the tranquillity which she and her friend had just destroyed.

Akashi's eyes flicked open, and almost immediately, Minki caught sight of the heterochromatic eyes which haunted her dreams. Chattering paused, she locked eyes with him.

This was perhaps the first time they had ever made eye contact, despite their first encounter ages back, and second meeting not too long ago.

His right eye was as red as ever, the exact shade of the scarlet in her memory, and his left eye was too, the same orange... _so how_, Minki questioned herself, how was it possible that a boy who was coloured in warm shades could appear so cold? No… it wasn't coldness that he exuded, it was something else, something she couldn't quite pinpoint.

He stood up, and the people in the room were able to appreciate him in his full height. For a boy, Akashi Seijuurou wasn't tall, but he wasn't exactly what people would call puny either. In the first place, it was atrocious to associate Akashi with any synonyms of that sort.

Akashi began walking towards Minki and her friend – Fudomiya Katsuya, each step resonated with the palpable, uniform rhythm of the heartbeats of everyone in the room.

_Thud._

_Thud. _

_**Thud.**_

He stopped in front of them.

For a moment, the class thought that Akashi was going to assault Minki and Fudomiya in the open, even the two of them thought so too – and Fudomiya quickly moved forward to shield Minki behind him, deep brown eyes regarding Akashi in a cautious manner. Standing at 178cm, Fudomiya was able to cover his 160cm tall childhood friend completely.

But Akashi merely picked up his pace and brushed past them, leaving without making a verbal comment.

"Hey you – where are you going? Lesson is about to begin!" A middle-aged man halfway through the corridor shouted at Akashi when he saw one of his students exiting the room. Really, kids these days… Where are their manners?

"Pardon me, Osuka-sensei, I will be back in an instance," replied Akashi, as he gazed at Osuka-sensei through chilling warm-coloured, mismatched eyes.

"A-alright, but be quick about it!" Osuka-sensei flinched but managed a reply. Was a kid supposed to possess that kind of eyes? Then again… students at Rakuzan High were no ordinary children. Most if not all of them descended from some sort of prestigious lineage. Even though he was a teacher, their elder in respect, there were certain borders he couldn't breach, and certain students he couldn't afford to offend for his work hinged on them. He then turned to the duo still standing at the door, "you two, get back into the classroom!"

His loud reprimanding voice broke the spell which held them in place. With a brief look exchanged, Minki and Fudomiya uttered a reply in unison:

"Yes, sensei."

* * *

Question: Would you prefer shorter chapters and faster update, or longer chapters but slower update?


	3. Birthday Special

Ok… it's Akashi's birthday, and I wanted to celebrate this day with an AkashixKuroko one-shot but muse ran thin and I wasn't able to complete it because of time zone difference so… I decided to unleash what's actually supposed to be the epilogue of WIAS instead O_O

**Take this as a flash-forward sort of**… well there's no plot but maybe hints of it if you squint. WIAS will be a rather slow-paced story in terms of romance, or rather… it will take an antagonizing-ly long period of time for two-sided romance to bloom so take this as fluff in advance~

**Whistling In A Storm**

**Birthday Special**

Akashi's birthday present from Minki was a really special one this year. It was the arrival of his daughter, Akashi Ryuuki – otherwise known as the first person to openly defy Akashi Seijuurou and to get away with such 'atrocity' absolutely scot-free.

And if you looked at the way Akashi interacted with Ryuuki now, you wouldn't think that Akashi and Minki had that sort of conversation when she was about six months pregnant with Ryuuki.

– _Flashback – _

_"What do you think will be the gender of this child, Seijuurou?"_

_"Boy."_

_Came the reply from Akashi, brief, short and curt as always._

_"So if I bore a daughter, you wouldn't like her?" Minki could feel the veins on her forehead twitching and threatening to pop out. _

_"There are no 'ifs', my words are absolute. My first child will be a son to carry on the Akashi lineage."_

_"... Seijuurou, you are as infuriating as ever."_

– _End of flashback – _

But for once, Akashi was wrong.

The arrival of Akashi Ryuuki was like a slap across her father's face, an innocent, overly-cute and impossible to not forgive slap from the little bundle of joy. Akashi Ryuuki is Akashi's first born child, and only princess of the Akashi family.

When Ryuuki was born, Minki was – and rightfully so – at one point of time worried that Akashi wouldn't like her. His OCD only got worse after their marriage so she was almost certain that the birth of their daughter which defied his prediction was not going end well.

But Akashi surprised her, much like how Ryuuki surprised them. Minki soon realized that all her worries were redundant, for Akashi showed blatant favouritism towards Ryuuki even after the birth of their two sons.

Akashi Ryuuki was raised as a true princess, nothing she asked for was ever denied. In fact, it was Minki who later on dropped many a hint to Akashi, asking him not to spoil her so utterly for she found out that behind their back, Ryuuki was really turning out to be quite the brat. One day she was mercilessly pulling out Kise's piercing, and another day she was mischievously hiding away Aomine's food. (The latter isn't really an issue until Satsuki decides to volunteer her cooking.)

These members of the Generation of Miracles would never bring up the issue in front of their ex-captain – to tattle on a kid in front of men? That would totally be uncool! So there was only one person they could turn to: Ryuuki's mother, Akashi Minki.

And the reply from Akashi? It was always the same line: do not interfere with the way the Akashi's raised their daughter.

Minki inferred a deeper subliminal message from that: daughters of the Akashi household are meant to be spoilt.

... Who was he trying to kid? She had seen his paternal aunts and they weren't half as spoilt as her Ryuuki. But she didn't bother herself with tearing down Akashi's façade, it was bound to be fruitless effort anyway. Besides, Ryuuki's pranks were only directed towards outsiders – in front of Akashi and Minki, she was a lovely, proper lady.

With that sort of idea established… Minki turned a deaf ear to further complaints from the rest of the Generation of Miracles.

Despite whatever antics she had in her, Akashi Ryuuki grew up to be one of the most highly sought after ladies in the whole of Japan,_ for she was Akashi Seijuurou's princess_.

... Notably, she eventually married Midorima's son. Minki can still recall the twisted expression on Midorima's face when his son informed him that he was dating the princess of the Akashi household. He looked like he desperately needed to let out some steam or his head was going to burst from the overrun of hot blood. He still remembers the conversation he had with the rest of his middle school basketball team (excluding Akashi) about how he 'pitied whichever family Akashi Ryuuki will marry into', to think his pity fell on himself. The irony of life is so overwhelming, Midorima thought that he was going to barf.

Minki felt apologetic towards the green-haired ex-miracle shooter, but if the children have decided on each other then well… hello, in-laws.

Akashi's reaction towards the entire affair was normal. Really normal. He looked like he was totally cool about it in front of Midorima, but Minki later discovered some strange documents inside his study room.

"… Seijuurou? Why are you scheming to buy over this cosmetic company under Midorima's name?"

"In the corporate world, there exist no such things as friends and family. We are rivals in business."

"But this cosmetic company is not even making money. What do you need it for?" The profit margin was seriously low.

"Soon it will begin to," Akashi replied calmly, _once it's melded into the Akashi line._

… Okay, it wasn't a cogent argument… but Minki gave him it.

"Seijuurou…" Minki sighed, rubbing her forehead, "just don't overdo it."

Midorima was not just his best friend, but they were going to be family too. The last thing Minki wanted to see would be the breakdown of their family units just because Akashi vented his displeasure using such discreet methods.

"Hm," Akashi glanced at Minki coolly, "before you spare your worries to others… you should worry about yourself first."

"What are you talking about Sei – mmfmm!" She was cut off by a pair of warm lips which enveloped hers. Like a savage beast claiming his territory, he bit her, dexterous tongue pushing through the cavern of her mouth. His strong grip held her in place, shackling her for the eternity to come.

When their lips parted, Akashi continued to press his forehead against hers. Mismatched, cool warm-coloured eyes bore into clear, warm cool-coloured eyes.

They were both paradoxes. Akashi was coloured in warm colours from head to toes – and yet, he was the coolest, mildest person one could ever meet (this wouldn't be true 27 years back, but it was true now.). Minki was the girl thought to be an exotic noble foreign lady with the most beautiful pair of blue eyes Japan had seen – but she was the fire in their relationship, frequently scorching herself and those around her. Her intensity had toned down after their marriage… but she wouldn't be Minki if the flame totally died down in her.

They were so different, but nonetheless... they made it work out.

"Honestly, Seijuurou, you don't always have to get rowdy when you're conveying your messages, I understand Japanese perfectly well you know?" Minki sighed and pulled out a light yellow gift box wrapped up in blue ribbons, "even if I forgot my own, I would never forget your birthday. Happy birthday, Seijuurou."

"That's alright," he murmured, the colours in his eyes deepening, and Minki knew the next clause of his unspoken sentence.

It's alright if she forgets her own birthday, because Akashi Seijuurou will remember it on her behalf.

"Mm… I wonder."

Peals of mirth ensued.

It was the 28th 20th December they had spent together, and... Minki was still counting.

* * *

I hope I made it in time for Akashi's birthday! Might insert more details after this.


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